Going Gluten Free

This summer, General Mills starts rolling out gluten free Cheerios. ONLY a gluten-free version will be made after that point and ONLY the top five sellers, including the iconic (original) Yellow Box, Honey Nut Cheerios, Frosted, Apple Cinnamon, and Multigrain will be gluten free. Nine others from the gluten free community and I attended the General Mills Cheerios Summit in Minneapolis earlier this week to understand the process and motivation behind General Mills launch of gluten free cheerios. Here is some of what we learned.

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Have you ever actually gone into the pharmacy and said, hey pharmacist, does this medication have gluten in it? and received a verified 100% safe answer in return? If youre like me, you are more likely to get a blank stare, or maybe something like well, I dont think so, but I cant be sure. If you have a good pharmacy, theyll probably have to spend 20 minutes and look over the product insert and call the manufacturer  but even then sometimes the answers are a bit muddled.

Spring cleaning. Did you know that most common household cleaners contain toxic ingredients? Fortunately, there are safer (and less expensive) ways to clean your home, using products that are probably already on your pantry shelf.

The Gluten Free & More team is fresh off the plane from Natural Products Expo West 2015. We were there to scoop out the newest, hottest products in the gluten-free and food-allergy friendly universe and connect with future partners in the naturals industry. According to New Hope Media, the 35th annual Natural Products Expo West, the world's largest natural, organic and healthy products event grew 7.2 percent bringing together an inspired community of over 71,000 industry members, more than 2,700 exhibiting companies and 634 first-time exhibitors. Needless to say, our feet are very tired, and weve got a lot of taste testing to do in the future! Here are some trends I saw at the show and some new products on the show floor that fit these trends.

What a crazy few weeks its been with Gluten Free & More Magazine, My Life With Food Allergies, and the Gluten Free Food Allergy Fests! We just wrapped up Austin, TX and were on our way to Lakeland/Tampa, FL! Were so happy to be able to share safe food-allergy/food-sensitivity friendly food, brands, authors, bloggers, and speakers with everyone on the road! Were bringing our magazine to your home town!

Come join the party! Youre invited to a Twitter Party on Monday March 9th with Gluten Free & More Magazine/Gluten Free Food Allergy Fest! Join us on Twitter using the hashtag #GFFAFest as we talk about the upcoming Tampa GFFAFest on March 14th and 15th at the Lakeland Center in Lakeland, FL! During the Twitter Party, well be giving away gifts from various sponsors and vendors of the Gluten Free Food Allergy Fest! These prizes will be given out during the party to few lucky winners that RSVP before the party starts and those who tweet during the party! Below are all the details youll need to party with us on Twitter and to get prepared for the GFFAFest in Tampa/Lakeland!

I say every year that March is my favorite month because it has Christmas. Instead of visions of sugarplums dancing in my head, I have visions of vegan gluten-free products being launched and every gluten-free product need I have being fulfilled. Doesnt that sound like Christmas? March is when Natural Products Expo West happens every year, and its the place to be to find new gluten-free and food-allergy friendly foods and products (bath & beauty, household goods, etc.).

I must admit, I like gambling  the rush of the reels of a slot machine dinging as each one stops, the dings and bells and whistles, and of course, the winnings. When I win, I leave feeling elated and like a champion. I felt confident in myself and knew that luck was on my side. Someone even gave me the nickname Slots after winning big in Vegas. Now, sometimes (okay, a lot of the times), I lose. When I lose, I leave the casino feeling regretful and downtrodden. This is pretty much how I feel about dining out.

K.C. Pomering  aka G-Free Foodie  has never been soft-spoken, a trait I truly admire about her when it comes to advocating for our community. This was especially true when one of my favorite gluten-free friendly restaurants recently came under attack  P.F. Changs and their delicious gluten-free Moo Goo Gai Pan.

Youre invited to a Twitter Party on Monday February 23rd with Gluten Free & More Magazine/Gluten Free Food Allergy Fest!

Join us on Twitter using the hashtag #GFFAFest as we talk about the upcoming Austin GFFAFest on February 28th and March 1st at the Austin Convention Center!

During the Twitter Party, well be giving away gifts from various sponsors and vendors of the Gluten Free Food Allergy Fest! These prizes will be given out during the party to few lucky winners that RSVP before the party starts and those who tweet during the party!

At the end of February, Gluten Free and More is hosting a huge party in Austin and youre all invited. The Gluten Free Food Allergy Fest hits downtown Austin, TX on February 28th and March 1st at the convention center. One of the biggest sponsors of the event is our friend Enjoy Life Foods.

The gluten-free online community has been buzzing about one thing this week - pizza. Recently, Pizza Hut partnered with Udis Gluten Free and the Gluten Intolerance Group to create a gluten-free pizza that is certified for safety for our community. Like I feel when most major brands decide to launch something gluten-free, I have to admit that I was skeptical at first.

The Winter Fancy Food Show is one of my favorite expos of the year. Its an industry-only event for specialty food manufacturers, retailers, and press. While its not a gluten-free show specifically, it does feature many of the hottest new gluten-free products that consumers will start to see on the shelves soon.

In this brave new world of gluten-free this and that everywhere you turn, do you feel safer and more satisfied, or just more overwhelmed? Unfortunately, in spite of the FDAs new gluten-free food labeling regulations becoming final in August of 2014, there are still plenty of pitfalls gluten-free consumers can fall into when shopping, eating out and trusting others with your health.

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to listen to Dr. Anne Lee  nutritional director for Dr. Schar  present on gluten-free diets and health consequences. Like a typical doctor, she had lots of charts and graphs to illustrate her points. Some of these facts made my stomach churn and made me think twice about the gluten-free brownie I was eating (okay, maybe just once for a fleeting moment)!

The Girl Scouts are now offering Gluten-free Girl Scout cookies? Tell me more! This story is all over the Internet and top-of-mind for most of my gluten-free friends. People magazine just posted a story about the new cookies here. You might remember that Girl Scouts tested a cookie in select markets last year, and it seems like theyre bringing gluten-free to the masses with two new varieties  even though theyre still considered part of a pilot program.

New Year resolutions are top of mind to many today. Will you pledge to lose those last 10 lbs.? Do you swear that you wont leave 2015 Christmas shopping until December 24th this year again? If youre here on GlutenFreeandMore.com, chances are your life is about living with celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, or food allergies and intolerances. Instead of worrying about silly resolutions this year, lets get serious about your health instead.

We're on our last week of our Countdown to 2015 promotion! Thanks to everyone who entered so far. We're counting down to 2015 with some of the brands we've featured at the Gluten Free Food Allergy Fests in 2014, and celebrating 7 cities on our map for 2015! This week is brought to you by Udi's Gluten Free. Enter to win!

Its only a few more days until the New Year and we welcome in 2015. Have you made your New Years Resolutions yet? If not, dont worry  I can help you make your resolutions right now. Here are some resolutions that gluten-free people can make 2015 a healthier and happier New Year!

Welcome to WEEK 10 of our Countdown to 2015 promotion! We're counting down to 2015 with some of the brands we've featured at the Gluten Free Food Allergy Fests in 2014, and celebrating 7 cities on our map for 2015! This week is brought to you by great authors we've had at our events! Enter to win great gluten-free books with Celiac and the Beast and Sweet Debbie's Organic Cupcakes!